Are Earthquakes On The Rise? - Part 2

Continuation of Part 1...

While sitting there, it also occurred to me that there have been a ton of earthquakes lately. Haiti was obviously a massive tremor that devastated the country. Most people think Chile was the next big one, but it was not. There was a magnitude 7.0 earthquake off the shore of Japan. Then we Chile rolls through with numbers that haven't been seen in a very long time at a staggering 8.8 on the Richter Scale. This, of course, has been followed by the earthquake in Turkey measuring “only” 5.5 that has killed at least 50 people at last count and the count has only started.

The rather obvious question facing us is whether earthquakes are on the rise? Well, earthquakes are the result of shifts in fault lines, particularly in subduction zones where one plate slides below another. Most scientist have argued that there has been a slight increase in the last 15 years, but the current spate of tremors is just a coincidence. Is this true? Well, it would seem to be. The major earthquakes that have occurred are not on the same fault lines. Only Chile and Japan are in the ring of fire. Haiti is its own area. Turkey is dramatic, but it has always been subject to significant tremors much like California has.

Is the world coming to an end or undergoing some major shift? Not likely. Then again, 2012 is only just around the corner!

The End.